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witnessed by their presence in Pipe Creek. However, slimy sculpins were typically 

 displaced upstream of the torrents on tributaries where both species occurred. Longitudinal 

 overlaps in torrent and slimy distribution on these tributary streams may exist marking 

 areas of transition from dominance by one sculpin species to another. Future studies might 

 examine the habitat conditions marking the transition from slimy habitat to torrent habitat on 

 tributary streams where the two species appear to exist in allopatry longitudinally. 



Factors Influencing Sculpin Distribution 

 Stream Character 



All three sculpin species appeared to reside most commonly in runs and to a lesser 

 degree in the area of overlap between runs and riffles. However, stream segments were 

 selectively sampled. Run habitat was sampled more extensivley than pools and riffles 

 because runs typically contained sculpins. Pool, riffle and run habitat were not sampled in 

 proportion to the frequency of occurrence of each habitat type in the stream segment. 

 Furthermore, the proportion of riffle, run and pool at a sample site was not quantified. As 

 a result, concluding that all three sculpin species prefer run habitat could be a reflection of 

 sampling methodology bias rather than a valid conclusion. 



Stream character preferences between species were not discernible based on qualitative 

 measures of habitat. Future studies might examine current velocities especially at a more 

 sensitive scale to distinguish species specific preferences. 



Substrate 



Substrate composition appeared to be an important habitat parameter influencing the 

 abundance of all three sculpin species at any one particular site. However, there were no 

 identified distinctions between species. 



